Bush's daughter in under-age drinks bust

JENNA BUSH, one of President Bush's twin daughters, is facing prosecution for under-age drinking after a police crackdown on bars in Austin, the Texas capital, where she is a student.

Miss Bush, 19, was among six under-age drinkers found by plainclothes officers in Cheers, a bar popular with students. She was drinking beer while her Secret Service protection agents waited outside.

The police citation on Miss Bush read: "Glass of beer - drank from it." The disclosure, on the eve of Mr Bush's celebration of his first 100 days in office, is an embarrassment to her father, who gave up alcohol on his 40th birthday after years in which he admits to having drunk too much.

It was also a setback to Mr Bush's effort to keep his daughters out of the public eye while he is in office. Before deciding to run for the White House he repeatedly expressed concern about the impact on his family.

White House officials refused to discuss her citation, made in the early hours of Friday morning. Noelia Rodriguez, a spokesman for Laura Bush, the First Lady, said: "We respect the privacy of this young woman and we're not going to comment on her personal life."

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Austin police, however, said that Miss Bush was questioned along with another woman at 1.30am by officers who suspected that they were under 21, the legal minimum for drinking in Texas and most states. She faces a court appearance on Wednesday and a $200 (£140) fine or community service if convicted.

Michael McDonald, the assistant police chief, said Miss Bush, who is in her first year at the University of Texas, had not been arrested because she had not drunk so much that she was a threat to herself or others. He said that Miss Bush's protection officers were unaware that she was drinking illegally since they were outside, but the fact that she was able to do so raises questions about the way in which she and her sister Barbara, a student at Yale University, are guarded.